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Here to Stay Two Decades of Proportional Representation in Britain

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Here to Stay Two Decades of Proportional Representation in Britain Ian Simpson July 2021 2 Here To Stay: Two Decades of PR in Britain Contents 5 Foreword 9 Introduction 13 Chapter 1 History and Responsibilities of Devolved Bodies 19 Chapter 2 Scottish Parliament 27 Chapter 3 Senedd Cymru 37 Chapter 4 London Assembly 43 Conclusion Electoral Reform Society 3 4 Here To Stay: Two Decades of PR in Britain Foreword Signed by over 650 ERS Across the UK, proportional representation is supporters in Scotland, Wales, London and here to stay. Westminster needs to catch up. Northern Ireland. As supporters and campaigners for electoral reform, it’s often easy to forget to celebrate the advances that have been made towards fairer votes. The damage done by winner-takes-all voting at Westminster overshadows so much of our politics. While elections for the House of Commons remain warped, we are proud that for devolved elections in London, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, First Past the Post has been consigned to the dustbin of history. Across the UK, elections with a proportional representation system are becoming the norm. Millions of votes have been cast across the UK using PR, with voters rightly expecting to secure fair representation, not the pale imitation of democracy that one-party-takes-all politics provides. The benefits of this are clear. In devolved elections, voters’ voices are amplified through proportional representation – a stark contrast to the silencing effect of Westminster’s system. More than two decades in, the benefits are clear. But while elections for Westminster and English councils continue to lag behind (Wales has recently passed legislation letting councils switch to the Electoral Reform Society 5 Single Transferable Vote), they will keep failing voters: reducing scrutiny, skewing resources, and silencing millions. It is a recipe for alienation, disengagement and division. There is still some way to go, but our experiences in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London have shown the benefits of a fairer system: fostering cooperation and giving voters real power. Now Westminster must follow suit. It cannot take two more decades for the Commons to catch up. Rather than rolling back preferential voting – as UK ministers plan – we urge politicians to get with the times and back truly democratic elections at last. Signed by over 650 ERS supporters in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London. Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Jess Garland, Michela Palese, Doug Cowan, Josiah Mortimer and Jon Narcross for their help with this report. 6 Here To Stay: Two Decades of PR in Britain Produced with Nanci Downey, Graham Patti Mccoll, Annie Driver, Brian Edwards, Mccracken, David the generous Hugh Elder, Jo Emery, McDowell, Roy Meddings, support of Penelope Erskine, Crispin Gillian Michaels, David Fisher, Kaare Foged, Harry Minns, Alastair Moodie, Forrester, Jennifer Foss, Francis Moore, Jean- Ben Foxley, Dorothy Free, Jacques Morcrette, Theo Mark Abbott, Glyn Adgie, Andrew Frew, Joan Morgan, Jackie Morgan, Peter Allen, Darina Fullbrook, Chris Game, Amanda Norrie, Alan Angelova, Anthony Jeremy Gass, Lesley Pavelin, Hilde Paxton, Armistead, John Ball, George, Ron Glatter, Crispin Pemberton, Geoffrey Band, Roger Samuel Gluning, Stanley Michael Price, Christopher Banister, Roosje Barr, Goodhew, Christopher Probert, Stephanie Reid, John Barrowdale, Paul Graham, Richard Green, Rod Riesco, Richard Riley, Beckett, Robert Behrman, Chris Gregg, Daphne Debbie Roberts, Tania John Bennett, John Groves, Tim Gutch, Alyson Robertson, Ann Robinson, Bennison, Anna Beria, Yandoli, Gerald Hamilton, John Romney, Edward John Berry, Anthony Best, David Harkett, Tom Rowlands, Robert Rush, Michael Bolsin, Chris Harrington, Nicholas Hay, Paul Rustad, Rodney Bosley, Patrick J Boyd, Michael Healy, Albert Saunders, Anthony Schur, Brian Boyland, Colin Hempstead, John Hoar, Myra Sealy, Tatina Boyle, Stig Brautaset, Matthew Holley, Camilla Semprini, Richard Jane Bright, Michelle Inglis, Avril Jamieson, Simmons, William Sinclair, Brown, André Browne, Stephen Johnson, Guy Peter Skinner, Rodney John Brunton, Sue Johnson, Mark Jones, Smith, Katie Spalding, Burchell, Richard Burnett- Susan Kendrick, Rosalind Ruth Thomas, Ian Tonothy, Hall, Christopher Burrows, Kent, Alison Keys, Martin David Tyler, Rich Walker, Sarah Butcher, Donald Kilbey, Judith King, Jane Justin Walker, Christopher Cameron, John Carless, Kingsmill, John Klosinski, Walker-Lyne, Janet Sherrida Carnson, Sue Amanda Knopp, Suki Watford, William Watson, Caro, Francis Caves, Kyme, Kenneth Lamden, John Wattis, Gerald Watts, John Chadwick, David John Lane, Graham Law, John Wharf, Rob Whitson, Chandler, Mike Chaney, Patricia Lawlor, Richard Gerald Wiener, Adrian Margaret Clarke, Jayne Lawrie, Mark Lelliott, Williams, Boyd Williams, Colvin, Robert Cooper, Ruby Lescott, Jean Margot Williams, Jean Cousens, Cliff Malcolm, Paul Marchant, John Withrington, Crossman, Robert Curtis, Anabel Marsh, Anna Brian Woolgar, Anthony Rod Dalitz, Michael Martin, Barnaby Mason, Wren, Colin Young, Danes, John De Carteret, Stuart Maule, John Richard Young and Pippa Dooney, Maynard, Jim Mccallum, Andrew Zsibrita. Electoral Reform Society 7 8 Here To Stay: Two Decades of PR in Britain Introduction On 6 May 2021, the sixth set of elections took place for each of the devolved elected institutions that exist within the three nations of Great Britain – the Scottish Parliament, Senedd Cymru (Welsh Parliament) and the London Assembly. The first elections to these bodies took place in 1999 (Scottish Parliament and, as it was then known, Welsh Assembly) and 2000 (London Assembly). This means that systems of proportional representation (PR) have now been in use in Britain for over two decades. During this time, PR has become a fact of life for millions of voters. Indeed, the Scottish and Welsh governments have passed legislation allowing for proportional representation to be introduced for local government elections within those nations. The Single Transferable Vote (STV) system replaced First Past the Post (FPTP) for 1. Local Governance local government elections in Scotland, following (Scotland) Act 2004. https://www.legislation. legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament in the gov.uk/asp/2004/9/contents form of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004.1 2. Local Government and In Wales, local authorities will have the option of Elections (Wales) Act 2021. https://business.senedd. switching from FPTP to STV, after their next set wales/mgIssueHistory Home.aspx?IId=26688 of elections in 2022, following the passage of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021.2 Photo: ERS Electoral Reform Society 9 This report will explore the 2021 election results for each of these devolved institutions, as well as looking at how these compare with the results of the previous five sets of elections. We will review how the Additional Member System (AMS), a version of proportional representation that is used across the three institutions, produces much fairer outcomes for voters than the FPTP system that is still used for UK general elections. For this report we spoke with voters and the following politicians: Clive Lewis MP Clive Lewis is the Labour MP for Norwich South (since 2015) and formerly served as a shadow minister. Cllr Dave Dempsey Cllr Dave Dempsey is a Scottish Conservative politician who serves as the Leader of the Opposition on Fife Council. He was elected in 2007 as part of Scotland’s first wave of PR elections for local government. Baroness Jenny Randerson Baroness Randerson is a Welsh Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. Prior to her peerage she was an Assembly Member for Cardiff Central from 1999 to 2011 when she served in the Welsh Labour-Lib Dem administration of the 2000–2003 Welsh Assembly government. Cllr Caroline Russell AM Caroline Russell is a Green Party politician and activist. Since May 2016, she has been a member of the London Assembly and serves as a councillor for Highbury East Ward on Islington Council. 10 Here To Stay: Two Decades of PR in Britain 1 History and Responsibilities of Devolved Bodies The Scottish Parliament was created in 1999, having been approved in a 1997 referendum. The Scottish Parliament is the most powerful of the three devolved bodies and has always worked on a ‘reserved powers’ basis, meaning that any areas of responsibility not specifically reserved to the UK parliament are devolved to the Scottish Parliament.3 3. Sargeant, J. and The Scottish Parliament has the power to pass Shuttleworth, K. (2021). Scottish parliament. legislation in most social policy areas, including Institute for Government, 21 May. health and social care, housing and education. It https://www.institutefor also has control over local government, agriculture government.org.uk/ explainers/scottish- and most aspects of transport, as well as the justice parliament system. Most tax policy is reserved to the UK parliament but the Scottish Parliament has greater powers in this sphere than the other devolved bodies. It has powers over local property taxes, stamp duty, landfill tax and the power to set all Photo: iStock rates and bands of income tax, other than the personal allowance. “We can learn so much about the success of PR in Scotland, Wales and London. Giving all voters a voice and having politicians that work together to get things done is a far cry from the Punch and Judy politics of Westminster.” Clive Lewis MP Electoral Reform Society 13 “Electoral reform is not just about a different way of counting votes, it’s about a different way of doing politics – one that prioritises an equal and powerful voice for every voter, where parties work together with the best interests of their constituents in mind.” Clive Lewis MP Senedd Cymru was originally created as the National Assembly for Wales, in 1999. Its creation was also approved by a referendum in 1997. The powers of the Senedd have increased over time. On its creation, the Assembly took over the functions of the Welsh Office of the UK government, with the power to make secondary legislation in these areas, meaning laws created under powers given by specific acts of the UK parliament.
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